Category Archives: Liberal

Tim Farron just resigned as leader of the U.K.s Liberal Democratic party, and his statement explaining why should enter the history books: To be a political leader especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me, Farron said.

And so hes off.

The obvious rejoinder to Farrons statement is that he had to resign because he had a disastrous electoral showing. And to a degree, that is true. The Lib Dems have seemingly lost their political base in the last two elections. David Camerons modernizing of the Tories took one bite out of it. And Jeremy Corbyn has done a remarkable job consolidating the anti-Tory vote under Labour. Perhaps the Lib Dem strategy of making itself the party of die-hard Remainers actually hurt it when it seemed like the rest of the political class had moved on.

But part of the disastrous campaign for the Lib Dems was the fact that its leader was constantly interrogated for his religious beliefs, beliefs that had little to do with his public leadership. Farron had a long record of supporting gay rights and access to abortion. But the media wanted to know whether he thought they were sins. Farron would get on television wanting to talk up a second referendum to be held upon the results of Brexit negotiations. His media inquisitors wanted to talk about personal morality.

Guardian columnist Rafael Behr explains that Farrons problem was that the culture of contemporary liberalism is avowedly secular. That tells part of the story. The entire elite culture and much of the popular culture is secular in a quite specific way. It is not a secularism that encourages public neutrality while maintaining a generous social pluralism. Its a secularism that demands the humiliation of religion, specifically Christianity. And in Britain it has a decidedly classist flavor, one that holds it impossible for an Evangelical like Farron one of those people to represent the better sort of person.

This secularism is not without its sacred ground and hierarchical order. Farrons religious beliefs may be publicly interrogated, even if he has an immaculate history of quarantining them lest they contaminate his liberalism. Farrons beliefs are subject to casual public ridicule. If Tim Farron wanted his religion to be unreservedly praised in the British media, we all know what he had to do: Convert to Islam and blow up a few teenage girls. 2017 is the year we learned every Farron interview inspires people to kick Christianity and every terrorist attack starts a wave of public proclamations about the beauty of true Islam.

We live in an age in which our liberal media elite and most people who call themselves Christian in social surveys treat liberalism and Christianity as strangers to themselves and each other. Farron sought relief from his public trial by recalling the proud history of his faith in the reformation of British politics. No one wanted to hear it. He called upon the decency and forbearance that are supposed to mark British society. There is none left.

Unlike Tim Farron, I think the creative tension between political liberalism and Christian orthodoxy has ceased to be creative and is now just tension. But it is hard not to respect his witness. Today is the day Tim Farron landed on a truth in his statement: We are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society. The truth has set him free.

READ MORE: Democrats to Pro-Lifers: You Are Unwanted and May Be Discarded Editorial: Trumps Half-Measure on Religious Liberty Will Trump Confront Renewed Religious Repression in Russia?

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer for National Review Online.

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Tim Farron's Resignation and the End of Liberal Christianity - National Review

In a sense it was the Liberal Democrats who did worst in this odd election. For the point of this party is to attract progressives who find Labour too dogmatic. And in the past two years Labour has been taken over by old-fashioned socialist dogma. It was the perfect opportunity to create a huge base of homeless New Labour voters. And then came Brexit, doubling this golden opportunity, for the Liberal Democrats were the main party of Brexit-scepticism.

Why was the chance missed? Maybe English voters can only really believe in the two main parties, when it comes to governing. In fact, most of us find one of these parties only intermittently credible.

So whats the point of the Liberal Democrats? They must seek purpose and coherence in an idea, a cause. Liberalism is too vague: there are aspects of liberalism that the Tories are stronger on, and aspects that Labour is as strong on, or stronger.

I have a modest proposal. The point of the Liberal Democrats should be to encourage debate about the big ideas that the other parties prefer to shun. And I mainly mean religion: I would like to see the party adopt an explicitly liberal Christian position. But if it went the other way and became secularist, that would be something it would help our politics to confront awkwardly large-scale ideas. But, as Ive argued before, there are grounds for thinking that a stable progressive force needs a religious basis so this could be the means by which they finally break out of third-party irrelevance.

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Embracing liberal Christianity can lead the Lib Dems out of irrelevance - Spectator.co.uk (blog)

According to the Belleville News-Democrat, a paper from the St. Louis area community in which Hodgkinson lived, the shooter has been identified with particularly progressive and liberal causes. He even worked as a volunteer on the presidential campaign of self-professed socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The suspects Twitter feed is also filled with tweets on liberal politics.

The paper reported that Hodgkinson belonged to a Facebook group called Terminate the Republican Party.

The shooters Facebook page was also linked to a long list of far left-wing groups and pages, including, Expose Republican Fraud, Liberal Democratic Socialist Party, Boycott The Republican Party, I Hate Donald Trump, Healthcare & Education Berners United to Resist Trump, among others.

The now deceased shooter also noted on his Facebook page that MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show was one of his favorite TV shows.

Facebook has since deleted the dead suspects account.

This afternoon, Sen Sanders responded to the fact that the shooter was a member of his own campaign by denouncing the shooting in no uncertain terms.

But Hodgkinson had been exhibiting stronger liberal views over the last year. Only a few days ago, Hodgkinson posted an attack against Trump on Facebook, saying, I Want to Say Mr. President, for being an [expletive] you are Truly the Biggest [expletive] We Have Ever Had in the Oval Office.

The Belleville News-Democrat also reported, In 2012, Hodgkinson took part in a protest outside the downtown Belleville post office. He said he was part of a 99% team drawing attention to the amount of money and political power the top 1 percent of Americans acquired.

Additionally, the suspect recently donated a small amount to the far left activist group ACTBLUE.

Hodgkinson voted Democrat in the 2016 Democratic primary, was described as a union tradesman, and was a licensed home inspector.

The shooter also has a history of altercations with the police. According to court records, Hodgkinson was charged with battery and damage to a motor vehicle in April 2006 in St. Clair County, Illinois. Ultimately, the charges were dismissed.

The suspect also recently came to the attention of the St. Clair County Sheriffs office when shots were heard being fired in a local patch of trees. Police found Hodgkinson with a rifle but let him go after finding he had a valid firearm owners card (FOID), a requirement for gun owners in Illinois.

According to Rep. Mike Bost, the Illinois Republican who represents the southern Illinois 12th Districtin which Hodgkinson lived, the suspect was always angry and repeatedly called the officers to complain, the Washington Post reported.

Every issue that we were working on, he was not in support of, Bost said, saying the communications were of a left-wing slant but were never delivered with any threats, only anger.

Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam denounced the shooting.

I am deeply saddened by the shooting this morning in Alexandria, Virginia. Elizabeth and I are praying for Rep. Steve Scalise, the Capitol Police, and all those involved, Roskam, a Republican, told Breitbart via email. I wish those harmed a speedy recovery and commend the bravery demonstrated by the Capitol Police and those who tended to the injured. We are fortunate to live among the brave men and women in uniform who serve to keep us safe each and every day.

Congressman Bost also slammed the lefts political rhetoric that caused the shooters mental breakdown.

With reports indicating that Wednesday mornings shooter is from my district, this is a tragedy that certainly hits close to home. As we continue to gather information, Tracy and I would like to send our prayers to my friend and colleague, Steve Scalise, as well as members of the security detail and congressional staff who were injured, Bost said in a statement. We live in challenging times, and the political rhetoric has been turned up to an alarming level. This should serve as a wake-up call for all of us to step back from the battle lines and come together to strengthen our nation.

The Illinois GOP did not respond to a request for a statement on the matter.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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Congressional Shooter Had History of Violence, Supporting Liberal Causes - Breitbart News

The baseball field that is the scene of a shooting in Alexandria on June 14 where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) was shot at a congressional baseball practice. CREDIT: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Early Wednesday morning, a gunman opened fire at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Virginia, injuring at least five people.

Thus far, authorities havent confirmed any details about the assailant or his motivations, though several news outlets including the Washington Post have reported his name is James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois. Hodgkinson died from his injuries following the incident.

Hodgkinson appears to have posted anti-Trump posts on his Facebook page and wrote letters to his local paper critical of Republican policies. Two House Republicans who were at the park for a practice ahead of Thursday nights annual congressional baseball game say they believe Hodgkinson approached them and asked if the lawmakers on the field were Democrats or Republicans before opening fire.

But even before Hodgkinson was identified as the shooter, a number of right-wing figures rushed to place collective blame on liberals and the media for the violence.

It wasnt just fringe figures like Walsh or Watson who did this. During a Fox News interview conducted before the shooter was identified, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) traced the violence to political rhetorical terrorism.

This political rhetoric and political discourse that has led to hate, has led to gunfire, Davis said. I never thought Id go to baseball practice for charity and have to dodge bullets. This has got to stop and it has got to stop today Weve got to ratchet down the rhetoric that weve seen, not only on social media, but in the media, in the 24-hour news cycle.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) went a step further and explicitly pinned blame for the shooting on Democratic rhetoric during an interview with a Buffalo radio station.

Collins, who was the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, went on to suggest the violence was an understandable reaction to Democrats outrageous criticisms of Trump.

The rhetoric has been outrageousthe finger-pointing, just the tone and the angst and the anger directed at Donald Trump, his supporters, he said. Really, then, you know, some people react to things like that. They get angry as well. And then you fuel the fires.

Donald Trump Jr. linked the shooting with New Yorks Public Theaters controversial production of Shakespeares Julius Caesara play actually meant to illustrate the futility of political violence.

Theres an obvious difference between opposing policies like Trumps Muslim ban or a health care bill that will strip coverage for millions and advocating violence against Republicans. No prominent Democrats have done the latter, and many quickly condemned Hodgkinsons actions.

Trump avoided playing the blame game and offered measured comments about the shooting during an 11:30 a.m. briefing at the White House.

We are strongest when we are unified, and when we work together for the common good, Trump said. Please take a moment today to cherish those you love, and always remember those who serve and keep us safe.

While the link between Hodgkinsons political views and the mass shooting it appears he perpetrated is tenuous at best, the Daily Beast reported he was arrested for domestic battery in 2006.

Data has consistently shown a strong connection between acts of domestic violence and acts of mass violence.

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An online rush to blame 'liberal rhetoric' for Virginia mass shooting - ThinkProgress

Until now, ESPN and its hosts have repeatedly denied that it has a liberal bias problem. Last year ESPN ombudsman Jim Brady published an investigation into the claim of liberal bias that ran thousands of words only to reach the conclusion that there was no liberal bias.

But that wasnt all; the question so vexed the network that it hired a polling firm to find out if there is any liberal bias and, if so, has it hurt the networks ratings. Unsurprisingly, the survey bought and paid for by ESPN miraculously showed that there was no liberal bias at the network.

ESPNs survey, though, flies in the face of three other surveys that did find that the network has a liberal bias problemand that the constant left-wing content is driving viewers away.

Many liberal members of the sports media, such as Awful Announcings Andrew Bucholtz, joined ESPN to pish-tosh any notion that the network has a liberal bias problem.

But there seems to be a changeup in the discussionas at least one liberal sportsman is now saying ESPNs dive into liberalism is a good thing for the network that is losing 10,000 subscribers a month.

According to Ty Duffy of Awful Announcing, ESPNs liberal bias is a good thing because it will bring in young, liberal fans.

There is truth in the liberal claim. ESPN has tilted leftward under John Skipper, Duffy initially observed.

Despite that admission, Duffy goes on to claim there is no proof that conservative fans have abandoned ESPN over its constant left-wing content. Naturally Duffy ignoredthe three surveys that serve as proof of conservative discontent and relied only on ESPNs bought and paid for survey to prove his contention.

But even as he offers no statistical proof to buttress his own claim, Duffy insists that ESPNs drive leftward is a shrewd move because it will bring young, woke viewers to replace the fleeing conservative audience.

Major brands, such as ESPN, are now expected to exhibit a political and social consciousness. They pay a cost when they are tone deaf. If there are now two Americas, ESPN (and sports leagues) will move with the one advertisers want to reach: young people, people with disposable income, and growing minority populations.

Of course, Duffy indulges gross generalizations. Only far left-wing liberals expect major brands to exhibit a political and social consciousness. Even if that is the case, he also seems to simply assume that even liberals dont want a place to escape politics and instead want politics to invade and conquer the sports world.

Time will tell, of course, but it is interesting to see how this argument is morphing from staunch proclamations that ESPN isnt liberal to the admission that, yes, some hosts are liberal, and finally to the obdurate notion thatyeah, were liberal. What of it?

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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The Changeup: Liberals Now Say ESPN's Liberal Bias a Good Thing - Breitbart News

This morning, someone who specifically wanted to kill Republicans sprayed more than 50 shots at a GOP Congressional baseball practice, wounding at least five including Congressman Steve Scalise (R-La.). Within minutes, the sadly inevitable Tweets began:

Yes, it is too soon.

I have never been a gun guy, and Ill leave it to others to argue gun control vs. gun rights and how they relate to issues of safety, security, and freedom.

But the rush to blame Scalises own political stances for his misfortune should shock the conscience of Americans, and I reject the idea that both sides do it. While Republicans sometimes point out the way Democrat policies (generous welfare, the minimum wage) hurt the people they are supposed to help, virtually none of us gloat and seek political advantage when Democrats face death or grievous bodily injury.

Yet during the health-care debate, I heard some liberals openly wish Republicans who supported Trumpcare would themselves suffer painful illnesses, or witness them among family members.

Were seeing the same vengeful point-scoring today.

As the saying goes, conservatives think liberals are wrong; liberals think conservatives are evil. Democrats often seem certain that Republicans choose economic policies from malice toward the poor; health-care proposals out of indifference to sick people; and attitudes toward affirmative action due to racism.

And when Republicans take NRA money (for their campaigns, not themselves) in exchange for supporting policies that objectively lead to the deaths of children, its simple greed.

The smug idea that conservatives would abandon their positions if they affected them personally is a bedrock of the liberal cultural stance. Countless TV shows have portrayed traditionalist characters who dont support gay marriage until a family member comes out. A Republican Senator in a recent off-Broadway, Church and State, sees the light about gun control after a shooting at the elementary school his children attend. Liberal newspapers trumpet confessionals by women who were pro-life until they got pregnant.

Todays tweets are particularly obnoxious when they offer thoughts and prayers. Thats a manifestation of what is known on the internet as concern trolling pretending sympathy for the other side to undermine its case. Anyone who really seeks prayers for Representative Scalise calls for prayers for him, and joins in. They dont attack Scalises policies and his campaign donor list while they do so.

And it needs to be said: the shooter was not a conservative. He stopped to check the political affiliation of the practicing legislator-athletes before opening fire. Seriously? Democrats have gone back to defending gun control today as a means to control their own people from murdering Republicans? Words cannot

Were already seeing conservative responses online to the blame-guns crowd, pointing out that if the shooter had not been himself shot by armed guards the event would have been a massacre. Those debates will likely continue for weeks. But its not too early to upbraid those who waited but minutes to exploit a legislative opponents tragedy to score political points. Shame on you.

David Benkof is a columnist for The Daily Caller. Follow him on Twitter (@DavidBenkof) and Muckrack.com/DavidBenkof, or E-mail him at [emailprotected].

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Liberal Shoots Republicans; Democrats Blame GOP Gun Policies - The Daily Caller

On Dec. 4 last year, less than a month after Donald Trump had defeated Hillary Clinton, Austria held a revote in its presidential election, which pitted Alexander Van der Bellen, a liberal who had the backing of the Green Party, against Norbert Hofer of the right-wing Freedom Party. In May 2016, Van der Bellen had defeated Hofer by just more than 30,000 votes receiving 50.3 percent of the vote to Hofers 49.7 percent but the results had been annulled and a new election had been declared. Hofer had to like his chances: Polls showed a close race, but with him ever so slightly ahead in the polling average. Hofer cited Trump as an inspiration and said that he, like Trump, could overcome headwinds from the political establishment.

So what happened? Van der Bellen won by nearly 8 percentage points. Not only did Hofer receive a smaller share of the vote than in May, but he also had fewer votes despite a higher turnout. Something had caused Austrians to change their minds and decide that Hofers brand of populism wasnt such a good idea after all.

Left: Far-right candidate Norbert Hofer. Right: Independent presidential candidate Alexander van der Bellen.

Georg Hochmuth/AFP/Getty Images; Alex Domanski/Getty Images

The result didnt get that much attention in the news outlets I follow, perhaps because it went against the emerging narrative that right-wing populism was on the upswing. But the May and December elections in Austria made for an interesting controlled experiment. The same two candidates were on the ballot, but in the intervening period Trump had won the American election and the United Kingdom had voted to leave the European Union. If the populist tide were rising, Hofer should have been able to overcome his tiny deficit with Van der Bellen and win. Instead, he backslid. It struck me as a potential sign that Trumps election could represent the crest of the populist movement, rather than the beginning of a nationalist wave:

It was also just one data point, and so it had to be interpreted with caution. But the pattern has been repeated so far in every major European election since Trumps victory. In the Netherlands, France and the U.K., right-wing parties faded down the stretch run of their campaigns and then further underperformed their polls on election day. (The latest example came on Sunday in the French legislative elections, when Marine Le Pens National Front received only 13 percent of the vote and one to five seats in the French National Assembly.) The right-wing Alternative for Germany has also faded in polls of the German federal election, which will be contested in September.

The beneficiaries of the right-wing decline have variously been politicians on the left (such as Austrias Van der Bellen), the center-left (such as Frances Emmanuel Macron) and the center-right (such as Germanys Angela Merkel, whose Christian Democratic Union has rebounded in polls). But theres been another pattern in who gains or loses support: The warmer a candidates relationship with Trump, the worse he or she has tended to do.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have both been the beneficiaries of the right-wing decline.

Gabriel Rossi/LatinContent/Getty Images; Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images

Merkel, for instance, has often been criticized by Trump and has often criticized him back. Her popularity has increased, and her advisers have half-jokingly credited the Trump factor for the sharp rebound in her approval ratings over the past year.

By contrast, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has a warmer relationship with Trump. She was the first foreign leader to visit Trump in January after his inauguration, when she congratulated him on his stunning electoral victory. But she was criticized for not pushing back on Trump as much as her European colleagues or her rivals from other parties after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords on June 1 and then instigated a fight with the mayor of London after the terrorist attack in London two days later. Her Conservatives suffered a humiliating result, blowing a 17 percentage point polling lead and losing their majority in Parliament; its now not clear how much longer shell continue as prime minister. Trump was not Mays only problem, but he certainly didnt help.

Lets take a slightly more formal tour of the evidence from these countries:

Geert Wilders.

Carl Court/Getty Images

The Netherlands Geert Wilders, of the nationalist Party for Freedom (in Dutch, Partij voor de Vrijheid or PVV), hailed Trumps victory and predicted that it would presage a populist uprising in Europe. And PVV initially rose in the polls after the U.S. election, climbing to a peak of about 22 percent of the vote in mid-December potentially enough to make it the largest party in the Dutch parliament. But it faded over the course of the election, falling below 15 percent in late polls and then finishing with just 13 percent of the vote on election day on March 15. Those results were broadly in line with the 2010 and 2012 elections, when Wilders party had received between 10 and 15 percent of the vote. The center-right, pro-Europe VVD remains the largest party in the Netherlands.

Marine Le Pen.

Chesnot/Getty Images

Reciprocating praise that Le Pen had offered to Trump, Trump expressed support for Le Pen after a terrorist attack in Paris in April and predicted that it would probably help her to win the French presidential election. But over the course of a topsy-turvy race, Le Pens trajectory was downward. Last fall, shed projected to finish with 25 to 30 percent of the vote in the first round of the election, which would probably have been enough for her to finish in pole position for the top-two runoff. Her numbers declined in December and January, however, and then again late in the campaign. She held onto the second position to make the runoff, but just barely, with 21 percent of the vote. Then she was defeated 66-34 percent by Macron in the runoff, a considerably wider landslide than polls predicted.

Le Pens National Front endured another disappointing performance over the weekend in the French legislative elections. Initially polling in the low 20s close to Le Pens share of the vote in the first round of the presidential election the party declined in polls and turned out to receive only 13 percent of the vote, about the same as their 14 percent in 2012. As a result, National Front will have only a few seats in the French Assembly while Macrons En Marche! which ran jointly with another centrist party will have a supermajority.

Theresa May.

Jack Taylor/Getty Image

While the big news in the U.K. was Mays failed gamble in calling a snap parliamentary election, it was also a poor election for the populist, anti-Europe UK Independence Party. Having received 13 percent of the vote in 2015, UKIP initially appeared poised to replicate that tally in 2017 (despite arguably having had its raison dtre removed by the Brexit vote). But it began to decline in polls in the spring, and the slump accelerated after the election was called in April. UKIP turned out to receive less than 2 percent of the vote and lost its only seat in Parliament.

UKIPs collapse in some ways makes Mays performance even harder to excuse. Most of the UKIP vote went to the Conservatives, providing them with a boost in constituencies where UKIP had run well in 2015. But the Conservatives lost votes on net to Labour (although there was movement in both directions), Liberal Democrats and other parties. Its perhaps noteworthy that Conservatives performed especially poorly in London after Trump criticized London Mayor (and Labour Party member) Sadiq Khan, losing wealthy constituencies such as Kensington that had voted Conservative for decades.

Frauke Petry.

Markus Schreiber/AP photo

The German election to fill seats in the Bundestag isnt until September, but theres already been a fair amount of movement in the polls. Merkels CDU/CSU has rebounded to the mid- to high 30s from the low 30s last year. And the left-leaning Social Democratic Party surged after Martin Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament, announced in January that hed be their candidate for the chancellorship (although the so-called Schulz effect has since faded slightly). Thus, the election is shaping up as contest between Schulz, who has sometimes been compared to Bernie Sanders and who is loudly and proudly pro-Europe, and Merkel, perhaps the worlds most famous advocate of European integration.

The losers have been various smaller parties, but especially the right-wing Alternative for Germany (in German, Alternative fr Deutschland or AfD) and their leader, Frauke Petry, who have fallen from around 12 to 13 percent in the polls late last year to roughly 8 percent now. Meanwhile, both Schulz and Merkel have sought to wash their hands of Trump. Instead of criticizing Merkel for being too accommodating to Trump, Schulz instead recently denounced Trump for how hed treated Merkel.

So if youre keeping score at home, right-wing nationalist parties have had disappointing results in Austria, the Netherlands, France and the U.K., and they appear poised for one in Germany, although theres a long way to go there. I havent cherry-picked these outcomes; these are the the major elections in Western Europe this year. If you want to get more obscure, the nationalist Finns Party underperformed its polls and lost a significant number of seats in the Finnish municipal elections in April, while the United Patriots, a coalition of nationalist parties, lost three seats in the Bulgarian parliamentary elections in March.

Despite the differences in electoral systems from country to country and the quirky nature of some of the contests, such as in France its been a remarkably consistent pattern. The nationalist party fades as the election heats up and it begins to receive more scrutiny. Then it further underperforms its polls on election day, sometimes by several percentage points.

While theres no smoking gun to attribute this shift to Trump, theres a lot of circumstantial evidence. The timing lines up well: European right-wing parties had generally been gaining ground in elections until late last year; now we suddenly have several examples of their position receding. Trump is highly unpopular in Europe, especially in some of the countries to have held elections so far. Several of the candidates who fared poorly had praised Trump and vice versa. Hes explicitly become a subject of debate among the candidates in Germany and the U.K. To the extent the populist wave was partly an anti-establishment wave, Trump the president of the most powerful country on earth has now become a symbol of the establishment, at least to Europeans.

There are also several caveats. While there have been fairly consistent patterns in elections in the wealthy nations of Western Europe, we have little evidence for what will happen in the former nations of the Eastern Bloc, such as Hungary, which has moved substantially to the right in recent years. (The next Hungarian parliamentary election is scheduled for early next year.) Turkey is a problematic case, obviously, especially given questions about whether elections are free or fair there under Tayyip Erdogan.

And even within these Western European countries, while support for nationalist parties has generally been lower than it was a year or two ago, it may still be higher than it was 10 or 20 years ago.

Politics is often cyclical, and endless series of reactions and counterreactions. Sometimes, what seems like the surest sign of an emerging trend can turn out to be its peak instead. Its usually hard to tell when youre in the midst of it. Trump probably hasnt set the nationalist cause back by decades, and the rise of authoritarianism continues to represent an existential threat to liberal democracy. But Trump may have set his cause back by years, especially in Western Europe. At the very least, its become harder to make the case that the nationalist tide is still on the rise.

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Donald Trump Is Making Europe Liberal Again - FiveThirtyEight

Alan Suderman, The Associated Press Published 8:53 p.m. ET June 13, 2017 | Updated 6 hours ago

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam greets voters and supporters at the Larchmont Elementary School polling place on Election Day in Norfolk, Va., June 13, 2017.(Photo: Stephen M. Katz, The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

RICHMOND, Va. Virginias establishment-favored lieutenant governor won the Democratic nomination in the closely watched race for governor Tuesday, defeating a more liberal insurgent challenger in a contest to be one of the partys standard-bearers against President Donald Trump.

Ralph Northam defeated former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, who ran as an unapologetic liberal crusader supported by prominent national Democrats like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as the best candidate to take on Trump.

The three-way Republican primary remains too close to call. The general election is expected to be an early referendum on the president and a preview of what the 2018 midterm elections will look like.

Northam, a low-key pediatric neurologist, won running as a pragmatist with states Democratic establishments firm support. He has also vowed to fight Trump, but with pledges to work with state Republican lawmakers on issues like a tax overhaul.

Virginia is one of only two states electing new governors this year, and the swing-state contest is likely to draw intense national scrutiny for signs of how voters are reacting to Trumps first year in office.

Frank Von Richter said he voted for Northam because he likes that the lieutenant governor is more middle of the road than Perriello and thinks he will work better with a Republican-controlled General Assembly. The retired Richmond resident said Northam is strong on issues like education and health care and will continue Gov. Terry McAuliffes efforts to bring more jobs to Virginia.

I think he has the ability to move Virginia forward like McAuliffe has, the 80-year-old said.

McAuliffe, who, like U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, backed Northam, is barred from seeking a consecutive term.

Perriello made a surprise entrance into the race in January and faced an uphill climb from the beginning. He energized many new-to-politics voters who oppose Trump and promised to support a grab-bag of progressive policies, like raising taxes on the wealthy, using public funds for political campaigns or mandating union membership.

Although he received a large amount of attention and praise from prominent national Democrats, Perriello was ultimately unable to expand the universe of Democratic primary voters enough to counter Northams advantages.

Northam had been essentially campaigning for years, making key contacts with influential power brokers like prominent African-American politicians and religious leaders, and building up a large cash advantage that let him outspend Perriello on TV advertising in the closing weeks of the race.

Northams campaign ran a more traditional campaign focused heavily on his biography rural upbringing, Army veteran, pediatric neurologist as well as his endorsements from key progressive groups that make up the Democratic base like teachers and abortion-rights groups.

He will face Republican Ed Gillespie who narrowly won his partys nomination in Virginias race for governor, eking out a victory against an ardent supporter of President Trump.

Gillespie is a former Republican National Committee Chairman who had a huge fundraising advantage and enjoyed the solid backing of most state elected Republicans, but largely kept Trump at arms length during the campaign.

On Tuesday, he barely defeated Corey Stewart, a former Trump state campaign chairman who made preserving Virginias Confederate history a top campaign issue. The close results shocked many political watchers and shows Trumps enduring appeal among Republican voters in Virginia.

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Northam beats Sanders-backed liberal in Va. gubernatorial primary; Gillespie wins GOP nomination - USA TODAY

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Hulu's 'Casual' Shoehorns Liberal Propaganda - NewsBusters NewsBusters (blog) The writers of Hulu's Casual are determined to stick in liberal propaganda wherever they see fit, as shown by Tuesday's episode, Troubleshooting. and more »

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Hulu's 'Casual' Shoehorns Liberal Propaganda - NewsBusters - NewsBusters (blog)

The executive director of the B.C. Liberal Party announced via social media Tuesday that she is leaving her post.

Laura Miller was also the Liberal campaign director for the May 9 election in which the party lost its majority in the legislature.

Miller said on Twitter that she is moving on professionally and geographically at the end of the month after more than three years with the B.C. Liberals.

She expressed her gratitude to Premier Christy Clark and Liberal Party president Sharon White for the incredible opportunity and experience.

The party said in a statement that Miller signed on to see the party through the 2017 election campaign and now is transitioning out of her role as planned.

The search for Millers replacement is already underway, the statement said.

White thanked Miller for dedicating her talents, energy, and excellence to a strong party and B.C.

Its the second time Miller has left the B.C. Liberal Party.

She stepped aside in December 2015 after being charged in Ontario with breach of trust and mischief in connection with the alleged deletion of government documents while she was deputy chief of staff under former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty.

Miller denied any wrongdoing and vowed to vigorously defend herself in court.

The Liberals rehired Miller three months later, saying she had organized her defence and was in a position to return.

Clark supported the decision.

Its the fair and right approach one that respects our court process, including the fundamental principle that every person is innocent unless proven otherwise, she said.

Millers case is set to go to trial this fall.

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BC Liberal director moving on - Times Colonist